and on the northern side, people talked a lot about china. >> did you know where china was? >> translator: no. not at all. it just happened that the way i was going was toward the border. >> with amazing luck and cunning, shin managed to steal and bribe his way across the border. and quietly work his way through china, where he would have been sent back, if he was caught. in shanghai, he snuck into the south korean consulate and was granted asylum. in 2006, he arrived in south korea, with not a friend in the world. he was so overwhelmed by culture shock and posttraumatic stress, he had to be hospitalized. more than seven years later, it's remarkable how far shin's come. he's 30 now. has made friends and built a new life for himself in seoul, south korea. but old demons from camp 14 are never far behind. and shin now admits there was something he was hiding. two years ago, he finally confessed to author blaine harden. >> when he first told me about the execution of his mother and brother, he didn't say that he had turned them in. >> you reported your mother and your brother?